Wisprof

The challenge may not be how you regard a degree, but how others regard it. There is a bias in this country for the Ph.D. whether or not a potential role expects a research degree. It's also true that a Ph.D. granted by some institutions lacks the integrity inherent in others. Additionally, some Ed.D.s have research components with as much scholarly credibility as can be found in a Ph.D. program. One has to study the nature of the program in question. Even then, were you to find one that impresses you, it might not impress a potential employer. Bottom line: If your sole goal is to get a quality hire with the right degree, you may not respect yourself as much as you hope others will.

Lots of opinions here. Bottom line, Columbia considers Teacher's College one of its colleges, much like Oxford considers Hertford College one of its colleges. A graduate of Teachers is thus more broadly also a graduate of Columbia. For those who think it would be more prestigious to graduate from Columbia, know that 1) Your diploma from Teachers will also be signed by the President of Columbia 2) If you want to pursue a degree in some aspect of higher education at Columbia, you will need to do it at Teachers. It is their college of education. 3) If you think that employers will regard Teachers with less esteem than Columbia, it would mean that they don't understand items 1 and 2 and they don't know much about the history of higher education in the U.S. in which Teachers College played the preeminent role for over a century.